The Babysitters Reunion
by GhostofaGirl15
Summary: "Can you believe four years ago this was our life? Babysitting and hanging out. Everything seemed so much easier back then." Kristy said. "Because we had each other." Stacey replied. Oneshot. BSC Friendship.


_**Stacey McGill**__, you are Cordially invited to a BSC Reunion meeting._

_Where: Claudia Kishi's room (where else?)_

_When: Five-thirty PM on Friday_

_Why: A chance to reconnect_

_Please come!_

Seventeen-year-old Stacey McGill stared down at the invitation in her hands, surprised. It held a lot about herself when she was thirteen, but that wasn't who she was anymore. When she was thirteen, the Babysitters Club was her world. She got to do something she loved (babysitting) and got to hangout with her six best friends. Also, she got to be the treasurer of the club, which dealt with money and math, which Stacey also loved.

The club ran for a year, but ended when they were fourteen. They all had too much to do. At first, they had all promised to keep in touch (even Dawn who was in California), but phone calls and plans got less and less frequent and eventually they just stopped all together as they all found their different paths.

Jessi threw herself even more into dancing. She danced almost every night of the week and when she wasn't dancing, usually she was doing schoolwork or at school. She still babysat her siblings, but she didn't do it as often as she used to. Mallory had done a complete makeover and got contacts, her braces came off, and she got a straight perm for her hair. Stacey always thought Mallory looked great when she saw her walking down the halls, and she was more confident now. And, as far as Stacey knew, she still wrote. She wrote very well. In fact, she had won Stoneybrook Middle School's Young Author's award. Even though they weren't friends anymore -and were practically complete strangers- Stacey was immensely proud of her.

Kristy got more involved with sports and spent more time with her family. She was still a take-charge person and eventually became Class President (not that anyone was surprised. Kristi was born to lead). Mary Anne had gotten more involved with theater. She wasn't on stage, however, she mostly worked back stage in hair and make up and costumes. From what Stacey heard, she really enjoyed it. And she had helped the school put on some spectacular productions. Dawn had visited from California, but the only thing Stacey really knew about her now was that she adored being back in California and had a blast at the California equivalent to the BSC, the We Kids Club.

She didn't see much of Shannon, either. She was at her private school, still playing sports for all she knew. She had heard that she went Varsity, and an immense amount of pride filled up in Stacey again, even if she and Shannon had never been close friends. Abby also did sports, like Kristy, but she was on a different team (the soccer team, whereas Kristy stuck with softball and coaching Kristy's Krushers). She had helped them get to state their Junior Year and barely won. The whole school was on a high that day and the girls soccer team seemed like celebrities to most of the school, especially the lower classmen, and once again, Stacey found herself proud of her former friend. The one she didn't see at all anymore was Logan Bruno. He was Mary Anne's ex-boyfriend, and once he quit the BSC, it was like he disappeared. She had heard a rumor that he had dated Abby over the summer before Junior Year, but didn't know if she believed it. She figured she would've seen them together at some point. But Logan all but disappeared completely.

The hardest loss she had was losing Claudia Kishi, her best friend. Claudia ran with the art club people now, and had showcased tons of her pieces. She won a blue ribbon at one of those showcases. Throughout the years, however, she had not gotten any better at school. And she could see that she was still totally addicted to junk food. She saw her at lunch sometimes eating a chocolate bar or mallowmars. It made Stacey miss the days when they still hung out.

And what had she, Stacey McGill, been doing? She founded a fashion club at school and had taken to designing funky clothes, stuff that she and Claudia used to love when they were thirteen and still had a taste for. She had made friends with the girls that joined quickly and she enjoyed hanging out with them, but she wasn't sure if it was the same as being with the BSC.

She noticed she had been staring down at the invitation for some time now. She also realized that the reunion was on Friday, which was tomorrow. She set the invitation down and ran to find her mom. When she found her in the kitchen, the words tumbled out before she could stop them. "Mom, can I go to Claudia's tomorrow?"

Maureen McGill raised an eyebrow at her daughter, bus smiled nonetheless. "Of course, Stacey. You're always welcome to go to Claudia's, and she's always welcome here. Remember that, okay?"

The blonde girl nodded and raced back to her room. She was nervous and excited for tomorrow.

School was torture that day. It went by so slowly and all Stacey could think about was that night. Who would show up? Would it be awkward? Would they have fun? She didn't know, and the anticipation was killing her. Finally, the final bell rang and on her way out the door, one of her friends from Fashion Club, Elizabeth, came walking up to her.

"Hey, Stace, do you want to spend the night tonight? We could watch movies or listen to music or something." The brunette said.

"Liz, I'd love to, but I can't tonight. I'm meeting with some old friends and I just… I have to."

Elizabeth nodded, understandingly. "Okay. Well, maybe tomorrow, then. Have fun with your friends." She said, before walking to the parking lot. Stacey followed her and went to her car and drove home.

It was 5:25 when Stacey pulled into Claudia's driveway. She couldn't believe she was actually back at this place, after five years of being away. Strangely, it didn't feel as weird as she thought it would. She walked up to the door and knocked. A moment later, the door opened to reveal Mrs. Kishi, who smiled kindly when she saw her. "Stacey! It's nice to see you, it's a shame that it's been such a long time. Come in, come in. Everyone's up in Claudia's room. Have fun."

Stacey nodded and smiled politely before heading up the steps to Claudia's room. She could see she was one of the last people to arrive (if not the last) and that Claudia had invited _everyone_ -Kristy, Mary Anne, Jessi, Mallory, Shannon, Abby, even Logan. Someone was missing, though. Stacey felt a hole in her chest where Dawn Schafer should be. But she was probably already back in California. It made Stacey sad to think about.

"STACEY!" Claudia exclaimed when she saw her, and ran across the crowded room to give her a huge, warm hug. "I'm so glad you came!"

Stacey nodded. "I am, too." She saw everyone was in their "usual" places. Kristy sat in the director's chair, Mary Anne was on Claudia's bed, where Claud had walked back to join her, Jessi and Mallory were seated on the floor next to each other, Shannon was leaning against the window, and Abby was leaning against the dresser, semi-close to Logan, who was leaning against the door. Stacey took a seat in the chair on the other end of the dresser. She watched as the clock turned from 5:29 to 5:30 and heard Kristy's booming voice yell, "Alright, come to order!"

Everyone stopped talking, immediately, and looked at her. Her cheeks turned slightly pink as she realized that this wasn't a regular BSC meeting. She slumped down in he director's chair. "I mean, continue talking as you were. Sorry guys."

Everyone -including Kristy- laughed. Everyone understood why Kristy made the mistake. It was all-too familiar being back in this room, in these seats, at this time four years ago. Stacey could picture all of their thirteen (and eleven, for Jessi and Mallory) year old selves back in this room. It was the best kind of nostalgia she had experienced. The group began talking again and Claudia surprised everyone when she looked at Logan and said, "Is it true that you and Abby dated before Junior Year?"

Stacey saw Abby's cheeks go a little pink and knew her answer. Her eyes darted over to Mary Anne, who looked fine. Stacey let out a relieved smile. Mary Anne was officially over Logan. Things went back to normal after that, the group continued talking and laughing. Claudia broke out the junk food she had stashed in an old shoe box and everyone dug in.

"I love coming to your room, Claud. You stash the best stuff." Kristy said and smiled at her. The dark haired girl smiled in return.

"Help yourselves, you guys. I have plenty, trust me." She said and smiled at all of them.

Mary Anne looked at Stacey. "Stace, I saw Charlotte yesterday. She looks so grown up from when I remember her when she was eight. I stopped to talk to her and her mom. They're doing good. Charlotte's one of the top people in her class, I thought you'd be proud of her."

Stacey smiled sadly as she remembered her "almost sister." After the BSC broke up, Stacey had gotten busy and couldn't baby sit nearly as often, and now, none of their old charges needed it, so she never saw Charlotte anymore. "I am, that's great. I knew she could do it."

The group talked about other favorite clients (Buddy Barrett, Jackie Rodowsky, Jenny Prezzioso, Jamie and Lucy Newton, the triplets, and Rebecca Ramsey among many others). To Stacey, it seemed, that the clients had grown up over night. She longed for the days she sat for them again.

"It's good to see everyone again." Mallory said. Everyone nodded in agreement. "I've missed all of you, I have. It's just good to know we're still friends at heart, and that everyone feels that way."

Mary Anne nodded. "I wish Dawn could be here, though. This was something she had wanted to do. But she's on a flight back to California by now."

Stacey looked at her. "How is Dawn, by the way?" She knew everyone was curious, but no one had known what to say.

"Why don't I tell you myself?" They heard an all-too familiar voice say. They turned their heads to see Dawn standing in the doorway by Logan. Mary Anne ran over and hugged her.

"What are you doing here? You should be in California!" She exclaimed.

"What? And miss a BSC reunion? I think not!" She said back. Everyone laughed and the mood was instantly lifted. They were complete again - a full club. Mary Anne and Dawn took their places on either side of Claudia on the bed and grabbed a few M&Ms. Everyone began talking again when the phone rang. It was closest to Stacey at the moment, so she decided to answer it.

"Hello, Babysitters Club." She realized what she had said a second later and said, embarrassed, "I mean, Claudia Kishi's line, Stacey McGill speaking." The group erupted in giggles. "Okay, I'll tell her, bye."

She looked at Claudia. "Some girl named Amber called for you, I told her you'd call her back." Claudia nodded.

The group went back to talking and catching up. Everyone was laughing and having a good time. No one wanted the night to end. When the clock struck six, everyone looked at it at the same time (not that it made a noise or anything, but everyone had expected it was coming. The group was silent for a moment. Shannon broke it by saying, "I have to go. I promised my mom I'd be home in time for dinner."

Abby nodded. "Yeah, and she's my ride, so…" She trailed off.

"Bye guys." They said at the same time and walked around the group, hugging each of them.

"And guys? Don't be a stranger. Seriously. Call, whenever you feel like it." Abby said and Shannon nodded immediately in agreement before they left.

A moment later Logan said, "I should head out, too. It was great to see y'all again. Thanks for inviting me, Claudia." He smiled and waved at everyone and left.

Dawn looked at her watch. "I should get going, too. I have to catch the late flight to California, but it was so worth it to see you guys again." She smiled and hugged each one of them tightly. "Also, call me, write me, visit me in California, do whatever you can to not be strangers. I miss all of you guys."

She walked out. Jessi and Mal followed a minute later, as Mrs. Kishi had informed them that Mallory's mom was there to take them home. They all waved and left. Suddenly, it was the four original members again, the four that started it all.

"This is crazy." Kristy said, breaking the silence. "Can you believe that four years ago this was our life? Hanging out with friends and babysitting. Everything seemed easier back then."Stacey nodded. "It was because we had each other. I mean, whenever I had a problem, I knew I could run to any of you and you'd help me get through it."

The three others nodded in agreement before Claudia said, "I know this has been said a lot tonight, but I really miss all of you. I remember when we officially ended the club and vowed to remain friends. What happened to that? What broke us apart?"

"Life." Mary Anne chimed in. "It seems fitting that it would break us up, though, as it was the thing that brought us together in the first place. Remember those faithful phone calls Mrs. Thomas made? But life for those sitters got in the way and Kristy had her brilliant idea and the BSC was born."

Everyone nodded and smiled fondly. "I can't believe it's been four years, but I still feel like we never left. I still feel like this is my second home and you guys are my extended family." Stacey said.

Claudia smiled. "It's because we are, Stace. Even if we're not as close as we were. We're always going to be there for each other, and nothing -not even life- can change that."

The four girls nodded in agreement again. Mary Anne looked at the clock and shot up. "I have to go! I need to make it home before curfew." She paused. "Isn't it silly? Being seventeen and still having a curfew. Some things never change." She said and giggled. She stood up and hugged all of them tightly. She hugged Kristy a little longer. But Kristy stood up."Do you think you could give me a ride home? My car broke down and I don't wanna have to call my mom or Watson to come get me. Although, I'm sure Stacey wouldn't mind if I called Sam." Kristy said and waggled her eyebrows, turning to the blonde. Everyone busted out laughing, even Stacey, who kind of wished Kristy _would_ call Sam, but didn't show it, of course.

"Yeah, I can give you a ride. Maybe I could just stay the night at your house then?" She asked and Kristy nodded excitedly. Mary Anne walked to the door as Kristy hugged Stacey and Claudia and the pair left the room, shouting "Call mes!" back to the two remaining girls.

"And then there were two." Claudia said and giggled. Stacey giggled, too, and moved to sit with her… best friend on the bed. Claudia scooted over to make sure she had room.

"I can't believe the reunion's really over." She commented, looking at Claudia, who shrugged.

"Yeah, but maybe we'll actually keep in touch this time, right? Maybe life won't get in the way as much."

Stacey nodded and smiled sadly. "Yeah. Maybe."

The two sat in comfortable silence for a couple more minutes, before Stacey said, "I should probably go, I don't want my mom to worry. But Claud? Call me, okay? We'll hang out."

Claudia nodded and smiled. The girls stood and hugged tightly for a couple of minutes, before Stacey pulled away and walked out, waving to Claudia on the way. She said goodbye to Mr. and Mrs. Kishi when she got downstairs and left. She sat in her car for a few minutes, smiling.

That night had been so much fun. And she thought she had gotten her seven best friends back. It was good to know. Sure, there was a chance they could drift apart again, but something deep inside Stacey told her that Claudia was right. They were always going to be there for each other, no matter what.

_Fin_

**So… I'm having a moment of nostalgia and wanted to write a BSC future!oneshot. Oh, and please excuse the VERY slight shipping of Sam/Stacey and Logan/Abby in this… I couldn't resist. Anyway, does anyone else miss these books? And what did you think? Did I do it justice? I never read all of the books, so my facts could be WAY off, let me know!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own in any way, shape, or form. It belongs to Ann M. Martin**


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